\u201cWe will not take these murderous raids anymore. ICE is not welcome here, immigrants are,\u201d said 30-year-old Princess Rios, community organizer for the socialist party, who was among the many speakers at Thursday night\u2019s protest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The vigil was for 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good<\/a>, who died after being shot in the head by ICE agents in Minneapolis on Wednesday in an incident that has brought renewed scrutiny to the tactics used by the agency on behalf of the Trump administration\u2019s aggressive deportation efforts, which have been ongoing since the president took office less than a year ago \u2014 particularly in Democrat-run cities.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rios told Fresnoland that residents from across the state, including people from Ventura County and the Bay Area were present Thursday night. Gloria La Riva, a 71-year-old activist and member of the United States\u2019 Peace And Freedom political party, said she came to speak at Fresno\u2019s protest following her participation at a similar demonstration Wednesday night in San Francisco.\u00a0<\/p>\n Never miss the top stories in Fresno \u2014 sign up for our free, daily newsletter.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not going to change things by us running in the election\u2026we\u2019re not naive enough to think that,\u201d said La Riva, who has been a candidate for U.S. president in multiple elections. \u201cBut we know that people want to know about socialism. People want to know about liberation. We need liberation. And you don\u2019t have to be socialists\u2026you\u2019re all here!\u201d<\/p>\n The vigil-turned-rally saw a wide variety of people that effectively shut down a small stretch of L street to oncoming traffic between Inyo Street and Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Some observers held real and fake candles to honor Good, others wore anti-facism iconography, and even more brought signage condemning the Trump administration.<\/p>\n The crowd broke into a march that saw the protestors stop traffic as they winded through the city\u2019s downtown district, eventually coiling around Fresno\u2019s Courthouse Park. The Fresno Police Department\u2019s traffic division stopped cars on Thursday night to allow the protestors relatively safe passage across downtown.<\/p>\n During the impromptu march, a photojournalist for CBS\u2019s local affiliate YourCentralValley was struck by a car<\/a>. The Fresno Police Department did not immediately respond to requests for further information on the accident. YourCentralValley said the photojournalist suffered minor injuries.\u00a0<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s nearly two-hour protest ended in front of the Fresno County Superior Court on Mariposa Street. Brothers Alfred and Noah Aldrete told the remaining crowd that simply showing up for the protest that night was important.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt lets the rest of the community know here in Fresno that people care,\u201d Alfred said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rios told Fresnoland that Thursday\u2019s demonstrations are \u201cnot the end, it\u2019s the beginning,\u201d adding that the protest was a success.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a win, one-hundred percent,\u201d Rios said. \u201cWhat we\u2019re able to do, not just with the timeframe, but to be able to connect people like this. It\u2019s so, so important. I feel like tonight was a win.\u201d<\/p>\n Rios said the group\u2019s ultimate goal is to have local elected officials no longer cooperate with ICE, and to have Fresno\u2019s leaders \u201cstand up\u201d and \u201cprotect\u201d residents by getting the agency \u201cout of Fresno.\u201d<\/p>\n Local law enforcement is barred from cooperating with ICE due to California\u2019s sanctuary state laws. However, local law enforcement has flirted with opening up that channel of communication<\/a>.<\/p>\n Protests<\/a> similar to Fresno\u2019s Thursday night have sprouted across the country<\/a> following Good\u2019s death in Minneapolis. The protests have largely criticized ICE\u2019s aggressive and violent behavior that has harmed both immigrants and citizens.<\/p>\n \u00a0Two other people were shot and wounded by ICE agents in Portland, Oregon<\/a>, just hours after the shooting in Minneapolis. Thirty-two people died in ICE custody last year<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Good\u2019s death<\/a> may have been the catalyst for many of these demonstrations, but nearly all protests have taken the opportunity to more widely denounce Trump and his actions overall, especially following his administration\u2019s decision to label the Minneapolis resident as a domestic terrorist<\/a>.<\/p>\n Thursday\u2019s peaceful protest in Fresno, saw the burning of an American flag on the intersection of Inyo street and L street.\u00a0<\/p>\n The speakers at Fresno\u2019s protest even levied criticism toward Trump\u2019s recent military operation against Nicolas Maduro, the Venezuelan leader who was extracted by the American armed forces last week in a military operation that has had its legality seriously questioned by many experts, domestic and international.\u00a0<\/p>\n The president was recently asked during a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times<\/a> what checks on his power currently exist.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cYeah, there\u2019s one thing, my own morality,\u201d Trump said<\/a>. \u201cMy own mind. It\u2019s the only thing that can stop me.\u201d<\/p>\n Support our hyperlocal reporting with a donation today. <\/p>\n Every week we bring you deeply reported stories about the essential issues facing our region. Please help us continue our work by becoming a monthly member. <\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/March-2.jpg\")
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